About this election
Finland held a presidential election with a first round on 28 January 2024 and a run-off on 11 February 2024. With the hugely popular two-term incumbent Sauli Niinistö constitutionally barred from standing again, the contest was wide open. Alexander Stubb of the National Coalition Party led the first round with 27.21%, just ahead of the independent (and former Green) Pekka Haavisto on 25.80%; the Finns Party's Jussi Halla-aho (18.99%) and the Centre's Olli Rehn (15.32%) followed. In the run-off, Stubb defeated Haavisto 51.62% to 48.38% — the closest presidential run-off in Finnish history.
The election was the first since Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment to join NATO in 2023, in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Foreign and security policy — the president's core domain — therefore dominated the campaign, and all the leading candidates were broadly aligned on NATO membership and support for Ukraine, shifting the contest toward questions of experience and judgement.
The president is elected directly by a two-round system: a candidate winning more than half the vote in the first round is elected outright, otherwise the top two contest a run-off two weeks later. The president serves a six-year term, renewable once, and leads foreign and security policy in cooperation with the government — a role of heightened importance in Finland's first post-NATO-accession years.
The field was unusually strong. Alexander Stubb, a former prime minister and foreign minister of the National Coalition, ran on his international experience. Pekka Haavisto, a former foreign minister standing as an independent with Green roots, was making his third presidential bid. Jussi Halla-aho of the Finns Party and Olli Rehn, a former EU commissioner backed by the Centre, rounded out the leading contenders.
With Stubb and Haavisto advancing, the second round became a close personal contest between two experienced, pro-Western figures. Stubb's narrow win — by just over three points — gave him the presidency at a pivotal moment for Finnish security, succeeding a predecessor who had enjoyed exceptionally high approval throughout his tenure.
Stubb took office as Finland's president in the country's first full year of NATO membership, tasked with anchoring its new place in Western security structures and managing the long, tense border with Russia. The closeness of the result reflected how evenly the two finalists were matched rather than any deep division over the country's direction.
In 2018 Sauli Niinistö had been re-elected in a landslide first round with nearly 63%. His departure after two terms opened the field in 2024, producing the competitive, multi-candidate race that Stubb ultimately won.
The 2024 election gave Finland its first president of the NATO era, and the campaign was dominated by security: the long border with Russia, which Finland had closed amid a manufactured migrant crisis, and the country's new obligations and opportunities as an alliance member. Because the president leads foreign and security policy, the choice carried unusual weight at a pivotal geopolitical moment.
The run-off between Alexander Stubb and Pekka Haavisto was striking for how much the two agreed: both were experienced, internationally fluent, strongly pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine. With little daylight on the defining questions, the contest turned on personality, temperament and judgement, which helps explain the razor-thin margin.
Turnout was 71.55% in the first round and 67.59% in the run-off — high for a Finnish presidential election and a sign of the importance voters attached to choosing a head of state for the post-accession era.
Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus) and the Ministry of Justice election results service — stat.fi.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.